After Rogue Warfare, which he wrote and produced for Paramount Pictures and Saban films, was released last year, Michael Day put pen to paper once again and this time also decided to step behind the camera for his latest project, the series Sisters, available to stream now on Amazon Prime. The description of the show reads: ‘Sisters Tara and Allie couldn’t be any more different, even if they tried. Despite their co-dependency, they’re always at each other’s throat…it’s a love-hate kind of thing.’ PopWrapped caught up with Michael to find out more about his creative career, the lessons he’s learned over the years and what he’s working on next.
When did you first realize that you had an interest in directing, and at what point did that interest become a passion that you then chose to pursue as a career?
I got into directing a little over five years ago. Up until then, my passion was producing. I never had the itch to direct. But I had this short film that I wrote and was going to produce, and it just seemed easier at the time to direct it myself. We were shooting it on a shoestring budget, and wanted to keep the crew as small as possible, so I decided that I would direct it too. This was more of an experimental project anyway and had zero pressure, so if it didn’t turn out well, it wasn’t a big deal. But luckily enough, it actually turned out pretty good, and I was really happy with the end result. It was during that whole process that I fell in love with directing and decided I wanted to pursue that as a career.
You’re also a writer and producer – is there one job title you favour over the other or are you just happy that you get to do them all? What challenges does being such a multi-tasker, in a sense, present you with at times?
I love all aspects of filmmaking, from writing, to producing, to directing. There’s something exciting about all of it. But I would say that directing is my favorite job of them all. It’s so much fun to be in the director’s chair, working with the cast and crew as you try and bring a story to life. Nothing can beat that. The biggest challenge with multi-tasking is knowing when to focus on one problem at a time. A lot of times when writing or directing, the producer in me starts to get in the way. Instead of focusing on directing the scene that’s in front of me, I’ll be looking at the clock, making sure that we’re on schedule. Or when writing, instead of just writing whatever pops into my head, I’ll start to think about what location I’ll shoot this scene at, and how expensive it might be. I’m not saying it’s bad thing to always be looking at the bottom line like that, but sometimes it can get in the way of my creativity.
You’ve written and produced for the likes of Paramount Pictures and Saban Films – with the action trilogy Rogue Warfare last year. Given the big franchises involved, how do you handle the pressure to deliver something you know will meet their standards and expectations?
The best way to handle the pressure is to surround yourself with a great crew. And that’s exactly what we did on the Rogue Warfare trilogy. We called in a lot of favors from a lot of friends to make that film look a lot bigger than it actually was, and it paid off. Everyday was stressful, from making sure we were on schedule to making sure that the explosions and stunts were being handled properly and in a safe manner. But knowing that we had a great crew surrounding us definitely helped alleviate any concerns. I can’t thank the crew enough for pulling off what we did. From the get go we were over scheduled, understaffed, and had just enough financing to pull it all off as long as nothing went wrong. And everyday, seeing the crew work as hard as they did, gave a sense of relief and helped us deliver something we are all very proud of.
What one lesson that you’ve most valuable have you learned during you career, and what makes or made that lesson so important?
One lesson I learned early on was not to sweat the little things. Things will never go as planned and the best thing you can do is roll with the punches. There have been plenty of times where we have something scheduled for a shoot and at the last minute it doesn’t work. We quickly adapt and work with what we have. Somehow it always works out, and usually for the better.
What is it about Sisters that appealed to you in terms of wanting to take it on as a project?
What appealed to me most was the rawness of the show. It’s these two sisters who are in a co-dependent relationship that love each other just as much as they are annoyed by each other. I think it’s something everybody deals with, whether it be a friend, a co-worker, or family. But what’s so great about Sisters is that there’s no filter on either of them. They speak their mind, regardless of what they’re thinking, and give no regard to how that will make the other person feel. We live in a time right now where everyone has to be careful about what they say or how they say it. But with these Sisters, they don’t live by those rules, and it’s kind of freeing in a sense to see that. I’m guilty of it myself, where I don’t always say exactly what I’m thinking because I’m afraid it might hurt someone’s feelings.
Is there a particular message you want viewers to take from the show as/when they watch it?
One thing I would love for everyone to take away from the show is that it’s ok and healthy to argue with a loved one. Just because you don’t see eye to eye on everything, that doesn’t mean that you can’t be close friends. We all have our own opinions and thoughts, and that’s a good thing. Not only that, but it’s healthy to express that, and it’s ok if it’s met with resistance or turns into an argument. That doesn’t mean you love that person less or that you can’t be friends anymore. If anything, it’ll just make you that much closer.
What do you think makes this show stand out from all the other content available to viewers at the moment?
One thing that makes this show stand out is that it’s unedited for the most part. We filmed everything in a wide master shot, and only ever cut away to the next scene. It really shows how talented the two actresses are. Abigail and Tonya both were so great at becoming these characters and have such great chemistry, that it works to show every scene this way. It gives the viewer the sense that they are there in the room with the two sisters, almost like a play. It feels raw and unedited because it is. And I think that’s why everyone responds so well to it. There are no distractions or cut aways. The audience becomes a fly on the wall and makes for a fun ride.
Do you have any highlights or favourite memories from filming the show?
One of my favorite memories is from the pilot episode actually. We had this car scene where the two sisters are driving around and bickering. I’m actually crouched down on the floorboard in the backseat along with the sound mixer. Abigail would just drive around a few blocks with Tonya in the passenger seat and they would act out their scenes while I was giving direction from the back. It was so uncomfortable, but it was so much fun being isolated in the car with them as they brought these characters to life. It was a blast.
Are there plans for more episodes or is it just a case of seeing how this run goes?
There are plans for more episodes of ‘Sisters’ and to go a little bigger this time. The first season was very sketch like in the sense that each episode is its only little story that doesn’t play into any of the other stories. Abigail and Tonya have actually started writing some of the episodes now, which is great, because they have such a great voice and do a great job of putting that into the scripts. So in the future episodes we are looking to expand the storyline and have a bigger overall arc for the two sisters. We really want to see them grow as characters and see where that takes us.
Streaming services have seen a boom in recent years, and particularly in the last year or so with so many people having to stay at/work from home. Do you think there will ever come a point – if we’re not there already – where the content made by streaming services can and does compete with that from major networks and TV/film studios?
I think we’ve already hit the point where we can safely say that the streaming services are competing and, in some cases, beating out TV/film studios in terms of content that they’re putting out. But I see that as a good thing. It’s healthy competition and a breath of fresh air. We’re starting to see content that expresses different views with minorities as leading characters. It’s something that’s been an issue in Hollywood for a long time, and a lot of it was the studios not willing to risk producing a film that doesn’t have the traditional leading character or the formulaic storyline that we’ve already seen over and over again. The streaming services have a platform and infrastructure that allows them to try something different and it’s working. We saw the studios doing it back in the 90’s when indie films were all the rage. So I view this in a similar light, where we have Netflix and Hulu trying new things to see what sticks. But this isn’t the end of the major networks or TV/film studios. They’re adapting now and getting into the streaming service themselves and starting to take chances too, which is great. It’ll be interesting to see how it all shakes out in the next ten to twenty years.
Which of your projects might you say you’re most proud of and why?
Of all the projects I’ve done, I’m most proud of what we accomplished with the Rogue Warfare Trilogy. We simultaneously shot three films over forty-five days on a very small budget. What I’m most proud of is that it doesn’t look like we had a small budget. Usually, you can tell when a film is low budget, especially if it’s an action film. But with Rogue Warfare, we were lucky enough to surround ourselves with the best team in Hollywood and make our films look ten times bigger than they actually are. When I look back at the films now, I honestly have no idea how we pulled it off. And when we tell other filmmakers what we did, their jaws just drop. It’s unheard of to shoot a trilogy the way we did, and then for for it to go on and be number one on Netflix for a week, it’s amazing and I couldn’t be more proud of it and eternally grateful to our cast and crew who helped pull it off.
Finally then, do you have any other plans or projects in the pipeline you can tease?
I just finished writing a female driven comedy that I’m really proud of it. It has a lot of humor and heart while having a universal message that I think everyone can relate to. At the core of the story, it’s about a woman who is happily married but then is blindsided by her cheating husband. The woman’s world spins out of control as she must figure out who she is and what she wants out her life. We’re now in the casting phase of it.
‘Sisters’ is available to stream now on Amazon Prime and you can find out more about the show on Instagram. You can also keep up to date with Mike via his Instagram and Twitter.
